Educators protest outside MPP Jones’ office

Protesters

Teachers are following in their students’ footsteps to decry Bill 115, the Putting Students First Act.
On Friday (Oct. 12), hundreds of teachers, educational support workers and students, among others, gathered at Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones’ Broadway office to deliver the message that the bill is unconstitutional.
The union-led protest arrived at Jones’ office just two days after about 250 Westside Secondary Schools students walked out of class to deliver a petition to the MPP.
The bill, which became law on Sept. 11, strips teachers of their right to strike, imposes a two-year wage freeze and reduces sick day benefits. Teachers unions filed a notice of application to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice claiming the bill violates their right to collective bargaining on Thursday (Oct. 11).
“We don’t always win, we don’t always lose, but we sure as hell always play fair,” said Mary Gardner, president of District 18 of the Ontario Secondary School Teacher’s Federation (OSSTF), which represents teachers in the Upper Grand District School Board.
Andrew Aloe, president of the Upper Grand Occasional Teacher’s Local said his members were willing to work with the board to find a fair agreement before Bill 115 became law.
“The board is not our enemy. The employer and the union always had a good relationship,” Aloe said. “We’ve had many agreements because we were able to negotiate. This bill takes that right away.”
Aloe also questioned why corporations are rewarded with tax breaks, while teachers lose rights.
“It’s been proven (tax breaks) do not create jobs,” Aloe said. “Our government has created a crisis. Putting students first? This bill has done nothing of the sort.”
While OSSTF has suggested teachers show their objections to Bill 115 by not volunteering their time to operate extra-curricular activities at schools, Ashley Jamieson, a science teacher at Orangeville District Secondary School (ODSS), said Friday afternoon’s protest is her fellow teachers’ alternative way of voicing their dissent.
“Right now we’re trying to protest the proper way instead of hurting our students,” Jamieson said. “If it comes to a point where we are not getting our point across, then we will start taking away our extra-curriculars.”
Jamieson said the protest is an important measure to support her personal rights.
“The government isn’t willing to negotiate,” Jamieson said. “We’ve offered a few ideas to aid in the financial situation, but they’re not really willing to talk about any of them.”
Orangeville resident Tracy Newman, president of CUPE local 5200, which represents educational support staff, said more than just teachers are hurt by the Putting Students First Act.
“It affects every single person that works in the education system,” Newman said.
She added the bill is an “unprecedented attack” on all Ontario workers.
“What the government is doing right now goes further than just wages and working days, they’ve gone as far as attacking our rights under the constitution,” Newman said. “That violates me as a Canadian.”